Public hearing to be held Friday in Lansing on $45M project

A number of Tompkins County residents have voiced concerns with a request from the Cargill salt mine in Lansing asking for a $640,000 tax abatement on a new mine shaft.

Cargill has applied to the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency for the tax exemption as part of a project to create a new ventilation and access shaft, which the company says the aging mine needs.

In its incentive application to the IDA, Cargill said that if it does not get the new access shaft, the mine will have to shut down in eight to 10 years, putting about 200 employees out of work. The new infrastructure will allow for another 30 years of safe mining, Cargill said.

According to its application, the total project is estimated to cost $45 million. The company will fund $37 million and has applied for an $8 million Empire State Development Grant. Cargill expects to hear whether it received the grant early next year, mine manager Shawn Wilczynski said.

The company is asking for a tax exemption on 8 percent of the cost of goods and services subject to state and local taxes, estimated to be $8 million, according to the application, which is where the $640,000 figure comes from.

Four county legislators serve on the Tompkins County Industrial Development Agency — Jim Dennis, D-Ulysses; Martha Robertson, D-Dryden; Will Burbank, D-Ithaca; and Rich John, D-Ithaca.

The IDA will hold a public hearing from 2 to 3 p.m. Friday at Lansing Town Hall regarding Cargill's request.

The Cayuga Mine stretches more than 2,300 feet under Cayuga Lake and produces about 2 million tons of rock salt per year.

The proposed project, called the #4 Shaft Project, will include a 14-foot diameter mine shaft that is 2,500 feet deep with a heavy-duty mine elevator. The shaft will allow miners to evacuate 30 minutes faster in an emergency and will provide fresh ventilation. The project also will include change room facilities, an electrical upgrade for the mine and a small maintenance shop for equipment.

In its application, Cargill said the project is underfunded at the corporate level.

A handful of local residents voiced concerns Tuesday at a county legislature meeting about Cargill's request for a tax abatement.

Theresa Alt, an Ithaca resident, said Cargill is not a small startup that needs to scrape together a loan and an abatement "to make a go of it."

"Cargill is a huge company. It can afford to pay for its needed safety measures instead of diverting money to profits. They can use the money for that second shaft starting now," Alt said.

In January, 17 miners were trapped 900 feet below ground when an elevator at the mine malfunctioned.

Irene Weiser, of Brooktondale, said the company should be responsible for the safety of its workers.

"This is not something that a company should turn to public subsidy to request, and I urge you to think about that," Weiser said to legislators.

Cargill reported net earnings of $2.4 billion on revenues of $107 billion in the fiscal year ended May 31.

Wilczynski, the mine manager, said the Cargill salt mine has been in the community nearly a century and contributes hundreds of millions each year in economic benefits locally and statewide. Some economic benefits include wages, spending for materials and job creation, he said.

Citing an independent study in 2015, Cargill estimated economic benefits of about $4.6 million for the Town of Lansing, $173 million for Tompkins County and $221 million for New York state each year.

"We've been a member of the community here for almost 95 years. We'd like to continue that, but when you have a nearly 100-year-old mine, staying competitive is very difficult, also being competitive with the tax structure of New York," Wilczynski said. "We're trying to maximize the investment of our company by taking advantage of being a good company and steward in this area for nearly 95 years. So again, anything that the county or the state would provide for funding would speak volumes to the corporation regarding the level of support we would have, and certainly assist with the funding of this project from a corporation level."

More than half the salt the Cargill mine on Cayuga Lake produces stays in New York. Tompkins County also benefits from cheaper salt costs, Wilczynski said. If the mine pulled out, the county could pay up to $500,000 more a year for salt from a competitor, Wilczynski estimated.

"I know $640,000 is a large number, but when you look at the impact annually that the mine has, that's a pretty small number as compared to what's at risk," Wilczynski said.

There will be no vote on the issue Friday after the public hearing, but the matter will come before the IDA at its regularly scheduled meeting at 4 p.m. Oct. 13.